If you haven’t done so already, this post will so you how quick and easy it is to customize myEarthLink to make it a more convenient and enjoyable page to start your surfing.

1. Sign In to Get StartedYou can’t customize the page if you don’t sign in (that’s how we keep track of what YOU want on YOUR page, after all). Just enter your EarthLink email address and password at the top-left of the page (see screenshot above).

2. Do the Quick SetupAfter you sign in for the first time, you’ll land on a Quick Setup page, which, as the name implies, lets you do a quick setup of popular page features. Click the checkboxes next to features you’d like to activate.

Make sure to enter your zip code to get local weather and other local information. The page is by default set up to the Weather theme, which changes how the page looks based on your local weather; you can change that now or try it out and pick a new theme later. Click Take me to myEarthLink when you’re done

3. Delete or Minimize FeaturesTake a look around your page. It’s made up mostly of boxes with orange titles describing each feature. If you see any feature you know you’re not going to want on the page, click the X on the right side of the bar with the title. That deletes the feature from the page (you can re-activate it later if you change your mind). Another alternative is to minimize features: Click the line ( – ) to the left of the X to keep a feature on the page but hide the content. I do that with some features that I only use periodically.

4. Move FeaturesThis is pretty cool: any of the page features you see with a title bar can be moved to another spot on the page. Simply click-and-hold on the title bar with your mouse and drag the feature to another spot on the page. A good first step is to drag all the things you think you’ll want to see most to the top of the page and leave the others you’ll use less frequently on the bottom. I moved News Headlines, Local News, Weather, Sports, and Reminders to the top of mine. Don’t worry if you don’t see Sports or Reminders yet. I’ll get to that next.

5. Add FeaturesI just mentioned that I had Sports and Reminders near the top of my page; but they are not on myEarthLink by default. You need to add those features yourself. To add any feature you don’t see, simply scroll down until you see the Add a Feature section. Scroll through the list of available features, click on the one you want and then click the Add button. Repeat to add others. By default, the added features will show up on the top right of the page, but you can drag them wherever you want.

6. Edit & Personalize FeaturesSome features, such as Reminders, aren’t very useful unless you customize them. Any feature bar that says edit in the right corner can be customized in some way. For Local News you can add other zip codes you want to get news for. For News Headlines you can add many different categories of news, such as Business, Technology, Health, Sports and Politics. The My Favorite Theaters feature can be set up to show the movie times at all the local movie theaters you like. And Reminders lets you keep track of birthdays, anniversaries, your to-do list, and all the other important things you don’t want to forget. If you’re not sure what customization options are available for a feature, just click the feature’s edit link and you’ll find out. If you don’t see an edit link, the feature isn’t customizable (most are).

7. Add Your EmailAdding your email to the myEarthLink start page makes it even more convenient. Simply click the edit link on the My Email feature and add your email addresses and password, then choose how many of your most recent messages you want displayed (5 – 10). Repeat these steps to display other accounts (you can even add Gmail and other email accounts if they have IMAP enabled).

8. Search 5 WaysDon’t forget that there’s a Google-powered search at the top of your myEarthLink page. By default it’s set to do a regular web search. Use the tabs to search for images, to search the EarthLink website only, to find the lowest shopping prices, or to find travel deals.

We hope you enjoy your start page. As always, please let us know how you’re using myEarthLink by leaving a comment below.